


At the End, There is Love

by sithwitch13



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Doomed Relationship, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-09
Updated: 2010-07-09
Packaged: 2017-10-24 11:25:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/262940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sithwitch13/pseuds/sithwitch13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luminara and Barriss share a chance meeting at the Jedi Temple, a moment of peace in a time of chaos.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the End, There is Love

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [sayanistica](http://sayanistica.livejournal.com/) who very generously donated to the [gulf_aid_now](http://gulf-aid-now.livejournal.com/) fandom charity auction. Thank you! And thanks to Vladdie, who looked it over.

It was disheartening to see how empty the Jedi Temple was. How empty, and echoing. When Barriss Offee had been a child, the Temple had been full of life, and there were always Jedi staying in between visits to other worlds, ready to tell the young apprentices all about life out in the galaxy.

The students were still there, and the teachers, that much had not changed. There were healers, though not nearly as many as there had been; the war had conscripted them, and their skills were needed on the front lines. She knew that better than most. As for the Jedi who would normally have been passing through... there were fewer of those every week, and those left were kept busy and far away.

She was lucky, though. She was here on business. And she had good timing.

Barriss walked down the nearly-empty corridors, her boot heels clicking too loudly on the tiles. Her footfalls were no heavier than they usually were, and her heavy Mirilian robes did not rustle appreciably more than they usually did, but without the press of other beings to block the sound, it seemed magnified. She examined the occasional doorways, looking for the labels molded discreetly into the architecture of the walls, until she found the one she wanted.

The room was no different from any of the others in this wing: a comfortable, sparse, temporary place for humanoid Jedi to rest while between missions. But when the door slid open after Barriss’ discreet knock, her face lit up. “Master Luminara.”

Luminara Unduli, her teacher and friend of so many years, stood just inside with her hand still on the door’s control panel. They had seen each other a few times since Barriss’ knighting, mostly through holos, but the effect was much more prominent in person.

Holos did not adequately portray Master Luminara’s ever-present aura of serenity, either. She smiled, tattooed lips parting to show still healthy teeth. Master Luminara had always had such a beautiful smile--those rare grins were what young Barriss had lived for. “Barriss! I had no idea you were on Coruscant. Please, come in.”

“I only arrived this morning,” she said, stepping through the doorway. “I heard that you arrived recently as well?” “A surprise stop-over. I cannot say that I am displeased.” If Master Luminara had been another person, she may have touched a hand longingly to the wall of the room. The Temple was as much a home to her as it was to any other Jedi, in as much as Jedi had homes. She clasped her hands in front of her instead.

“Sleeping on all manner of terrain in all manner of weather does make one wistful for comfort,” Barriss offered.

“It is not for a Jedi to choose where they sleep,” Master Luminara said reprovingly, but she softened. “Though... the thought had crossed my mind. Several times, in fact.”

“I missed it, too.” She hesitated. “And you.”

“Attachment is undesirable, Barriss,” Master Luminara said, but it was not a rebuke. She said it almost sadly, and took one of Barriss’ hands in her own. Her skin was warm, pulsing with life and vitality.

“I know,” Barriss said firmly. “I did not wish you away from where you were, or your duties. I just wished for your guidance, and for the comfort of your presence, as well. This war has been taxing. I have relied on myself as best as I could, but...” She floundered for words, looking up at the ceiling. “You have always been a pillar to me,” she finally said. “And while I have constructed a version of that as best as I could from what you have given me, sometimes it’s no excuse for the real thing.”

She looked back down to find Master Luminara smiling sadly at her. “Come. Let’s take a walk. I think we could both use it.” She tugged Barriss’ hand gently, not releasing it, and keyed the control panel once more. After a moment, Barriss followed.

* * *

 

The hallways may have been distressingly empty, but the main areas of the Temple were filled enough to remind Barriss of how it had been, how it should have been. Apprentices too young to be assigned as Padawans--there was no more choosing, not when they could not afford the time--were gathered in small clusters, for fun or with small learning groups. Here and there, they practiced skills to varying degrees of success, and childish laughter or huffs of frustration filled the air to bursting. It warmed her, and she walked a little taller.

Master Luminara looked over at her. “Does it bring back memories?”

“It does.” She breathed in, filling her lungs with the smell of things other then sweat and blood and death for what seemed like the first time in ages. Here, there was no dust or rotting vegetation. There was order, and cleanliness, and _life_.

“You were always an easy one to teach,” Master Luminara mused, looking over a knot of younglings. “Such a solemn, dutiful child. All I had to do was explain once, show once, and you were already attempting to learn it by heart.”

“I tried, Master. Luminara, sorry. Old habits still die hard.” Luminara shook her head, smiling. “And always so eager to please and do your best. May your own Padawan do nothing less for you.” Barris stopped short, tugging Luminara back. “You knew? I thought you said that you did not know I would be here.”

Luminara shrugged. “I did not know your purpose for coming, no. Are you here to pick up a Padawan of your own, then? It only makes sense. You have proven yourself an admirable Knight, and any student would do well to learn from you.”

Barriss continued walking, and Luminara paced her, their long robes rustling against each other. “I’m worried,” Barriss finally said.

“About what?”

“How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Find it in you to teach me, and teach me so well?” Barriss looked at her former Master, at her friend, with pleading blue eyes.

Luminara sighed fondly. “Barriss,” she said, in the same patient tone she had taken a thousand times throughout the years, “I did not know that I would be able to teach you, either. But I did my best, and you surpassed every expectation I ever had.” Luminara released their hands, stepped forward, and clasped Barriss on both shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes. “It will be hard. But it will be rewarding. Teaching means that you return to the role of student, in a way. You taught me many things, I can assure you. Your Padawan will teach you many more. All you can do is what you have always done--your best.” She released Barriss’ shoulders with a reassuring squeeze. “You will do well, I know.”

* * *

 

“Where will you be?” Barriss asked, comfortably wrapped in Luminara’s arms much later. There were no heavy robes between them now--there had been no need for them. The touch of skin felt better than any bed had ever felt after months of sleeping on hard ground.

“Kashyyyk.” Pressed against the side of her own face, Barriss could feel Luminara’s facial muscles working, and she could picture the wry smile her former Master made. “It will be a pleasant change, for the moment. Wookiees are a hospitable people. And you?”

“Zonder and I will be on Felucia.” “Ah. I cannot say that I envy you.”

“We’ll be leaving in the morning.”

Luminara was silent. Barriss did not speak either, preferring to savor this moment: the feel of Luminara, the smell of her, the temperature of the air around them, everything. She would commit every detail to memory, and bring them out in the days to come when the war raged on again. As before, Luminara would be the pillar that held her up.

Finally, Luminara spoke. “Love is not necessarily attachment, Barriss. Should... should something happen to either of us, then that is the will of the Force. But this, what we feel and enjoy and have right now... I will enjoy it for precisely as long as we are allowed to.”

Barriss understood. Luminara would never say the words, but she felt them, too. “I know,” she said. “Me too.”


End file.
